Rules could be changed to allow some parts of western Queensland to unplug from the power grid in favour of standalone electricity generation.
Catherine Cussen, a senior official at the state energy department, outlined future trends predicted to impact Queensland's electricity market during a presentation to the Western Queensland Local Government Association's annual conference held in Longreach.
Ms Cussen spoke about the potential for standalone power systems to replace traditional grid connections in some parts of the state.
"The next sign post for the future is the increasing potential for standalone power systems to replace grid connections," she said.
"Standalone power systems can take the form of microgrids for townships, for example Boulia, or individual power stations for single customers, for example I visited a number of off-grid cattle stations when I was in the region last year."
The Australian Energy Market Commission, which sets rules for the country's power and gas markets, is considering a rule switch so some customers could disconnect from the grid in favour of their own standalone power supplies, Ms Cussen said.
In certain circumstances standalone power systems could make electricity more reliable and drive down prices, she said.
The switch made sense in areas where there was a high cost of supply, retail prices were already highly subsidised and there were relatively few customers on a long, thin network.
Ms Cussen also spoke about work by the Australian Energy Market Operator to integrate large-scale renewable energy projects into the Queensland electricity grid.
There were three potential projects impacting the western Queensland area, although none of these were ranked as high priorities.
A potential renewable energy project near Barcaldine could generate 400 mega watts through a mix of wind, solar and geothermal projects, but was a low priority because of the distance involved and upgrades needed to get the network in shape.
A clean energy hub extending into north west Queensland was also a low priority because of network issues, while a project in the Isaac region was a medium priority, although there were concerns about transferring energy to central and south east Queensland.
Ms Cussen complimented smaller-scale projects under way in western Queensland, such as the 15 mega watt solar farm at Camden Park east of Longreach.
"The planning and community engagement was exemplary [at Camden Park], and the economic and employment benefits in the region were very positive."
